‘I relish when my enemies loathe me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as a leading the most prominent voices on the US political left

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how intense, fails the test, he contends – not least a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Zone

Piker operates in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, if someone were to ask me, did you imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”

It’s the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream.

Piker continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “I find a lot of personal fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another marathon live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.